Vancouver city councillors have overwhelmingly rejected the controversial Villages Plan that would have allowed low- and mid-rise residential density in 17 select areas of the city.

Council voted 10-1 against the plan, ending a years-long effort to add more residential and commercial density to the areas. The proposal would have allowed additional housing forms, including apartment buildings of up to six storeys, while adding more shops and services in lower-density neighbourhoods.

“We basically said: Wee don’t want to move forward with this; we’ll have to build and grow our city in either the way that we currently are, or with new ideas in the future,” Coun. Mike Klassen told Connect.

The plan evolved from Vancouver’s citywide planning process and was accelerated in 2023 after Mayor Ken Sim directed staff to speed up housing initiatives. The original concept identified 26 village areas before being reduced to 17 following 18 months of planning and public engagement.

Hundreds of people spoke at a multi-day public hearing, with opponents outnumbering supporters. Residents raised concerns about neighbourhood character, parking pressures, the pace of change and the potential loss of tree canopy, The Vancouver Sun reported.

“A rezoning of this size and scale needs to be carefully explained and perhaps even given more time to think through,” said Klassen. “I think it fell down under its own weight to some extent.”

Klassen was among all seven of council’s governing ABC Party members, including Sim, who rejected the plan. Councillors from Vote Vancouver, the Green Party and COPE also voted the proposal down, while OneCity’s Lucy Maloney was the lone councillor to support it. She sought to send the plan back to city staff and, after that attempt failed, to launch it as a smaller pilot project involving fewer communities but saw her second attempt rejected as well.

Klassen said council needs to focus on its goals of providing adequate new housing in well-placed locations for young families and older adults who want to age in place.

“But I think what the Villages Plan ended up doing is, it created a lot of uncertainty and in some cases, real anxiety that people were going to lose the rights to the land that they owned,” he said.

City staff gave the impression that approval was predetermined and a memo that administrators sent to residents of potentially affected neighbourhoods indicated that homeowners would not be able to renovate their homes.

“It was worded in such a way that it really did create some distress,” he said. “So, it was not kicked back [to city staff] for more work.”

The correspondence “left a lot of confusion and uncertainty” and, in some cases “ignited a real frustration with people,” he said.

“It was not just [about] how it was communicated, but it also was about the substance of the plan,” said Klassen. “When I spoke to people in the community, they told me they were really worried about it and it led to some sleepless nights for them. And that’s not fair.

“So, I’m glad that the Villages Plan is ended, but I’m still determined to make sure that we build the right housing for the people in need in the city.”

Approximately 13,000 lots throughout the city would have been impacted, Daily Hive reported.

Despite rejecting the broader Villages Plan, council approved an amendment allowing smaller apartment buildings with a single stairway in certain areas, a change intended to support more space-efficient building designs.

Pictured: Map showing areas of Vancouver that would have been affected by the Villages Plan if it had gone through.

Rendering: City of Vancouver